I just received a few days ago a new VHP2 headphone amp and VAC1 power supply. I honestly cannot believe how good these sound for so little cost! I've had Singlepower, Ray Samuels, and Mapletree headphone amps in the past, and the Channel Islands stuff is certainly in the same league, if not a notch above. The apparent build quality is fine, and the quick and friendly service from Dusty was great. I ordered a Revelation Parable umbilical power cord to try out based on others' experiences noted here. I am anxious to find out if the already excellent sound quality from the VHP2/VAC1 can be improved upon.
This is my first Channel Islands addition, but I can already tell that I will be back for more. My next move is to possibly replace my existing power amp, which is a Mac MC275. It sounds good, but I'm curious what the D200 monoblocks would bring to the table. I'm using Harbeth Compact 7ES-3 speakers in a small room. The MC275 drives them to satisfactory loudness levels in my application. But having the extra power on reserve in the D200's might "wake up" the Harbeths a bit more. Not to mention the high damping factor and speaker control that a solid state amp would possibly provide. I'm just afraid that I'll miss the magical (albeit somewhat colored) midrange from the MC275. I could probably sell the MC275, buy the D200's, and have enough left over funds for more music. Hmmm... What do you think? Should I do it?
By the way, my sources are a Rega Saturn CD player and a VPI Scoutmaster with Dynavector XX2Mk. II cartridge. For preamplification, I've got a Modwright SWP9.0SE phono stage and an SWP9.0SE Signature line stage, so tubes are already in my signal chain.
